Balaji Rajagopalan, Ph.D. is the new director of The Sam and Irene Black School of Business at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The school, which is accredited by AACSB International, the premier accrediting agency for business schools, is listed in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Business Schools and Princeton Review’s Best 300 Business Schools. Dr. Rajagopalan recently spoke to the Business Magazine about his experience since joining the college in July 2013 and his goals for the business program going forward
You recently served as pro vice chancellor and dean at Galgotias University in Greater Noida, India and previously as a professor of management information systems at Oakland University in Michigan. What attracted you to Penn State Behrend’s Black School of Business?
I am fortunate to have had exceptional experiences at Oakland University’s School of Business and more recently, at a fast-growing private university — Galgotias University in India. My experiences at both institutions gave me important insights needed to create and execute a vision for a business school. Two factors played a critical role in my decision to take on the leadership role at Penn State Behrend: 1) The vision for Penn State Behrend to be globally known for encouraging interdisciplinary education and innovation, through the open lab concept, is aligned perfectly with my interests. 2) The Sam and Irene Black School of Business has a strong reputation in the region and its world-class faculty has the potential to make the school nationally and internationally known.
You have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, master’s degree in management systems, and extensive experience in partnering with such high-profile companies as IBM, Ford, GM and Daimler Chrysler on research and consulting. How do you see this experience benefiting your role as the head of Behrend’s business program?
Throughout my career I have established substantial working relationships with firms — small and large. At the institutional level, I can take this experience to expand and create relationships with industry that will lead to relevant industry projects for students and faculty in the Black School of Business. I envision the creation of a center to serve as a hub for
“learning by doing,“ supported by cross-disciplinary education and industry engagement.
Read more in the January 2014 edition of the Business Magazine.
